Cash Game Work Horse Chip for $0.25/$0.50 and how many (23 Viewers)

[chimppoker]

I have a question for y'all that will ultimately help me make my decision in my final count and denominations for my custom cash set. I normally host an 8-9 handed $0.25/$0.50 NLH with min max buy in of $40-$100 (so 40BB-200BB) with unlimited rebuys and a $1 live straddle option for UTG. So far it has worked well, and sometimes it even plays like a $0.50/$1 towards the end of the night. I really like using $1 for workhorse chips at these stakes, (from my observation of local card house $1/2 games their workhorse chip is the $5). So basically with my home games being 1/4 the stakes of live poker, I would like to go for similar chip breakdown. I also would like to ideally stay below 600 chips, as budget is important but I can stretch to 600 max if need be. The games will never go beyond $0.50/$1 and the most money our table has seen in one night is about $1500 (I don't really see us exceeding this # but if we do, we can always introduce bigger denom chips in the future). We average around 800-1k total usually (4 players usually buy in for $100, while 4 buys in for $50 (as you can see not too many reloads unless degen, which it sometimes does, super rare). I want to keep the least # of denominations possible and play for a lot of chips. I know this is a tough ask. So far this seems like a decent breakdown to be able to use the $1 chip as our workhorse. My only concern is will too many $1 chips result in lost time when it comes to chip counting? Always open to suggestions. Thanks!

80 - 25cent pink ($20)
300 - 1 blue ($300)
160 - 5 red ($800)
20 - 25 green ($500)

560 total chips

total bank: $1620

 

[detroitdad]

80 - 25cent pink ($20)
300 - 1 blue ($300)
160 - 5 red ($800)
20 - 25 green ($500)

100
200
200
60

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Welcome! I host in similar stakes. Your breakdown is fine-ish, but you came to people who care too much about it; I am definitely less efficient and also have 300 $1s, but I also have 200 $5s. We don't waste much time with $1s if people are stacking by barrel or atleast 10s. If you have people counting out 1 by 1 to match your $27 bet, it's going to take some time lol. If you're really wanting to focus on more chips in an efficient breakdown just do 80/200/200/20, add on as many $25s as you'll need.

My breakdown because the $1s are my favorite chip:
200 0.25s
300 $1s
200 $5s

plus a rack of $25s and a bunch of $100s because this is a gross place. I most likely will never need more than 1 $100 chip, and I definitely don't "need" the 3rd rack of 1s. Most of our starting stacks are 20/20/5 OR 20/40/1. The 5s are more efficient, but two barrels of beautiful 1s are preferred because we're apes. You can also cut way back on the fracs you give out but eh, I'm lazy and prefer not to have to make the change later.

Are you sure your game won't grow? If you've seen your game get to $1500 I'd be worried about only have $1600ish, that's only one more buy-in and you're tapped. Get more 5s and 25s.

Edit to add: one of the reasons casinos have $5s as workhorses is because they don't care about efficiency like you do. It would make more sense to have more 25s on the table but its better to give fish 60 chips instead of 44, etc. You want to buy fewer chips in fewer denoms, but casinos want you to sit on a mountain of chips to slowly lose so they can suck the life out of you.

 

[chimppoker]

that is a great breakdown and I really like having more $1 chips than 0.25s as well at these stakes as it forces players to slightly bigger bet sizings and let the game play larger. About getting the bigger bank, I think i agree. Might have to add more 5s and a barrel of 25s because I don't think our table will ever see a $100, at that point chip security matters and i'd rather just let $100 bills play

 

[detroitdad]

100
200
200
60

Fire the record, I would prefer 300 x 5. I was trying keep it within you 560 chip count.

 

[chimppoker]

Lets say I could stretch my budget out and make the perfect set to play with lots of chips at these stakes. What would that look like in your world?

 

[detroitdad]

100
200
300
100
20

 

[upNdown]

100
200
260
40

I play the same stakes. I haven’t put more that 20 x $1 per player on the table in years and I’ve never regretted it. And if you’re limiting yourself to 600 chips, I don’t think you can afford more than two racks of $1s.
I think at these stakes, the $1 and the $5 share workhorse duties. But like I said, I’ve never regretted only a barrel of $1s per person.

FWIW, I’m surprised you can feel comfortable about a $1620 bank, when you e had $1500 on the table before.

 

[links_slayer]

80 x 25c - if you get 9, just give the 9th person $1s and $5s in their buy-in and have them make change.
200 x $1
300 x $5
20 x $25

in a perfect world, i'd go

100 x 25c
400 x $1
400 x $5
80 x $25
20 x $100

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Lets say I could stretch my budget out and make the perfect set to play with lots of chips at these stakes. What would that look like in your world?

160 quarters
300 $1s
300 $5s
40 $25s

Bank of $2,800+, double your biggest night and 800 chips. Never have to worry about change. Enjoy, sounds like a fun game!

 

[Natskule]

I have a question for y'all that will ultimately help me make my decision in my final count and denominations for my custom cash set. I normally host an 8-9 handed $0.25/$0.50 NLH with min max buy in of $40-$100 (so 40BB-200BB) with unlimited rebuys and a $1 live straddle option for UTG. So far it has worked well, and sometimes it even plays like a $0.50/$1 towards the end of the night. I really like using $1 for workhorse chips at these stakes, (from my observation of local card house $1/2 games their workhorse chip is the $5). So basically with my home games being 1/4 the stakes of live poker, I would like to go for similar chip breakdown. I also would like to ideally stay below 600 chips, as budget is important but I can stretch to 600 max if need be. The games will never go beyond $0.50/$1 and the most money our table has seen in one night is about $1500 (I don't really see us exceeding this # but if we do, we can always introduce bigger denom chips in the future). We average around 800-1k total usually (4 players usually buy in for $100, while 4 buys in for $50 (as you can see not too many reloads unless degen, which it sometimes does, super rare). I want to keep the least # of denominations possible and play for a lot of chips. I know this is a tough ask. So far this seems like a decent breakdown to be able to use the $1 chip as our workhorse. My only concern is will too many $1 chips result in lost time when it comes to chip counting? Always open to suggestions. Thanks!

80 - 25cent pink ($20)
300 - 1 blue ($300)
160 - 5 red ($800)
20 - 25 green ($500)

560 total chips

total bank: $1620

Just my suggestions.

0.25/0.50 games vary in what the "workhorse" chip is. Depends on the players, sometimes even the particular game. Some will be betting and using in $5 increments, other times in $1, $2 or $3 increments and using $1s. Sounds like your game isn't new, so you probably have an idea of what your players normally bet and what chips are getting used while betting.

While it's nice to have a lot of workhorse chips, if your game features a fair amount of all-ins, then a lot can be a bit of a pain. But then again that depends on your players as well. Some players always have their chips barrelled up and ready for a quick count, others just have a pile of chips and is a bit time consuming to count their stack. I can't say what is better for your game, some are better with more $1s, some are better with more $5s.

For a cash game, I always prefer $20 chips over $25s. Just so much easier to cash out or for rebuys, if your buyins are done in cash.

If you've had a game with $1.5k in it, you need a bigger bank. A couple more barrels of $20s/$25s would be wise.

I don't think you need to get $100 chips, seldom if ever used. As in BG in GA will eventually add, you can always use $100 bills if necessary to make the bank bigger.

In the end, I think you probably know what will work best for your game and we are all just guessing based on our games. Most of us here will always error on more chips and cover every possible situation, but your goals can be achieved with a 600 chip set.

 

[jamesjkim]

200 - $1
300 - $5
40 - $20/25
20 - $100

Just play $1/$1 since it sounds like that's what it becomes anyway. Without knowing your game, I will assume that average opens are $2-3+ and not $1.50.

 

[JP1984]

The answers you seek can be found here - https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...ut-a-cash-game-chip-set-5c-10c-to-5-10.30897/

 

[allforcharity]

Standard 600 chip breakdown
100x 0.25
200x 1
200x 5
100x 25 (or 80x 25 + 20x 100)

 

[merkong]

We’ve gone back and forth on the 1 v. 2 racks of fracs. You want 2 racks of fracs…

For our very big playing .25/.25 $25-40 buy in and top offs to the big stack we play

200 fracs
300 $1’s
and a hundred or so $5 plaques and a handful of $25’s

 

[suchj0sh]

I’m in a similar situation. My guys have no concept of pot size or betting a portion of the pot, they just bet with their hearts.

Personally I like have more fracs as it puts more chips on the table at the start of the game and just looks better, but I’m starting to consider starting with less fracs so they never reach for them to bet when the pot is bigger .

 

[gopherblue]

This question comes up A LOT and there are many many threads on the topic. Here’s my take:

Cash...two rules of thumb:

1. 100 x 25¢ is plenty for a single table (give a barrel out to each of the first 5 players ala @abby99, and the others can make change as the game progresses), and
2. Always get spares (at least 5-10) of every denom in case of Murphy.

Breakdown:
This guy keeps getting it right, and I hear he’s a hell of a fella:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/breakdown-25-50-and-50-1-nl.15141/#post-265619

Or ignore him and go with this guy’s advice...he’s smaht and good-looking to boot:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/need-help-with-cash-set-breakdown.6473/#post-67892

 

[merkong]

We’ve gone back and forth on the 1 v. 2 racks of fracs. You want 2 racks of fracs…

For our very big playing .25/.25 $25-40 buy in and top offs to the big stack we play

200 fracs
300 $1’s
and a hundred or so $5 plaques and a handful of $25’s

One rack of fracs is just way too much change making and you get people limping with a $1 and people not paying attention aren’t sure if it’s a call or a raise.

2 racks of fracs. Moar.

 

[ChipFinderSK]

100
200
260
40

If you’re limiting yourself to 600 chips, I think I’d go this route based on your OP

Just to confuse you more though, I’ll throw out my ideal breakdown for a .25/.50 set:

.25 - 100
1 - 200
5 - 400
20 - 80
100 - 20

 

[RadicusScout]

This is the moment in the thread where it feels like...

 

[chippitydoodah]

I find it easiest to hand over a barrel of $.25's and a barrel of $1's ($25 Total) and then as many $5's that it takes to get to your max Buy In. So if it's $60 Buy In they get 7 @ $5. Of course you could get away with less fracs but then for $60 Buy In you're giving out 12/22/7. You could easily do:

160 @ $.25 ($40)
160 @ $1.00 ($160)
140 @ $5.00 ($700)
40 @ $25.00 ($1,000)

$1900 Bank

$60 Buy In
8 players get 20/20/7
9 players get 12/22/7

$100 Buy In
8 players get 20/20/10/1
9 players get 12/22/10/1

 

[merkong]

This question comes up A LOT and there are many many threads on the topic. Here’s my take:

Cash...two rules of thumb:

1. 100 x 25¢ is plenty for a single table (give a barrel out to each of the first 5 players ala @abby99, and the others can make change as the game progresses), and
2. Always get spares (at least 5-10) of every denom in case of Murphy.

Breakdown:
This guy keeps getting it right, and I hear he’s a hell of a fella:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/breakdown-25-50-and-50-1-nl.15141/#post-265619

Or ignore him and go with this guy’s advice...he’s smaht and good-looking to boot:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/need-help-with-cash-set-breakdown.6473/#post-67892

Carve your own path. I’ve heard both those members are mooks. (Making a run on the Mook Use Leaderboard)

 

[ChipFinderSK]

I find it easiest to hand over a barrel of $.25's and a barrel of $1's ($25 Total) and then as many $5's that it takes to get to your max Buy In. So if it's $60 Buy In they get 7 @ $5. Of course you could get away with less fracs but then for $60 Buy In you're giving out 12/22/7. You could easily do:

160 @ $.25 ($40)
160 @ $1.00 ($160)
140 @ $5.00 ($700)
40 @ $25.00 ($1,000)

$1900 Bank

$60 Buy In
8 players get 25/25/7
9 players get 12/22/7

$100 Buy In
8 players get 25/25/10/1
9 players get 12/22/10/1

I can almost get behind the idea of 120 fracs, and the 200 fracs folks are wrong but too loud to silence, but 160 fracs? (And an equal number of $1s?)

You might be out on an island like me with the “I like mixed mold sets” stance with this post

 

[chippitydoodah]

Carve your own path. I’ve heard both those members are mooks. (Making a run on the Mook leaderboard)

If you want to dominate change your username to mookong.

 

[chippitydoodah]

I can almost get behind the idea of 120 fracs, and the 200 fracs folks are wrong but too loud to silence, but 160 fracs? (And an equal number of $1s?)

You might be out on an island like me with the “I like mixed mold sets” stance with this post

I was trying to fit the pieces into his puzzle. I still stand by equal barrels of fracs & $1's. And for me, if I'm paying Tina prices, I'm buying 2 racks of everything!

 

[chippitydoodah]

I find it easiest to hand over a barrel of $.25's and a barrel of $1's ($25 Total) and then as many $5's that it takes to get to your max Buy In. So if it's $60 Buy In they get 7 @ $5. Of course you could get away with less fracs but then for $60 Buy In you're giving out 12/22/7. You could easily do:

160 @ $.25 ($40)
160 @ $1.00 ($160)
140 @ $5.00 ($700)
40 @ $25.00 ($1,000)

$1900 Bank

$60 Buy In
8 players get 25/25/7
9 players get 12/22/7

$100 Buy In
8 players get 25/25/10/1
9 players get 12/22/10/1

Shut up Stu

 

[springbox]

Workhorse will be split between the $1 and $5. When using quarters I like 12 to 20, but 8 is plenty playable if you want to keep them to a minimum. I would personally do 100/220/220/20 ($1845 bank) if you really think you won't break $1500 on the table. 40x$25 would be a safer bet though.

I was trying to fit the pieces into his puzzle. I still stand by equal barrels of fracs & $1's. And for me, if I'm paying Tina prices, I'm buying 2 racks of everything!

I'm also a fan of barrels of fracs, but when you're buying paulsons it feels silly to not focus elsewhere in the set. My girlfriend laughed at me when I suggested spending $150 to up my nickels from 1 rack to 2 lmao.

 

[gopherblue]

Just to confuse you more though, I’ll throw out my ideal breakdown for a .25/.50 set:

.25 - 100
1 - 200
5 - 400
20 - 80
100 - 20

Agreed: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/need-help-with-cash-set-breakdown.6473/#post-67892

 

[gopherblue]

Carve your own path. I’ve heard both those members are mooks. (Making a run on the Mook leaderboard)

Errr…ok?

 

[allforcharity]

2 racks of fracs. Moar.

Sure, if you can afford it.

What if a rack of fracs costs $850-1200?